Actor Val Kilmer Dead At 65

Actor Val Kilmer, best known for roles in Top Gun, Tombstone, The Doors, Heat, and Batman Forever, has died at the age of 65, his daughter, Mercedes, confirmed to the New York Times.

Kilmer, who had battled throat cancer for several years, died from pneumonia in Los Angeles on Tuesday (April 1). The Los Angeles native trained at Juilliard and emerged as a Hollywood leading man in the 1980s and 1990s, initially making his debut in the spy spoof Top Secret! in 1984, followed by the comedy Real Genius in 1985.

Kilmer landed the iconic role of naval aviator Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in the original Top Gun film in 1986 and later appeared in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, despite being unable to speak due to his cancer. The Los Angeles native later starred in the 1988 film Willow alongside his future wife, Joanne Whalley, whom he shared two children prior to their divorce.

Kilmer gained critical acclaim for his portrayal of singer Jim Morrison in the biographical film The Doors in 1991 before playing Old West gunfighter Doc Holliday in the 1993 Western Tombstone. Kilmer starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the crime drama Heat before succeeding Michael Keaton as the second actor to play the role of Batman in a feature film in the 1995 film Batman Forever.